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October 1, 2017

A long recovery road for victims

<!– /11440465/Dna_Article_Middle_300x250_BTF –>A number of victims began their month-long recovery on Saturday after the unfortunate stampede incident on Friday claimed 23 lives. On Saturday, after two patients took discharge against medical advice, there were 32 patients still being treated who were said to be stable.Piyush Thakkar, 22, a resident of Ghatkopar East managed to survive the stampede on Friday as he used his presence of mind and made his way through the crowd to reach the bridge railing. Thakkar, who works at a garment manufacturing unit in Elphinstone, was on the way to his office on Friday morning.”I was standing on the footsteps of the foot-over-bridge as commuters ahead of me were not moving. But, slowly the pressure of passengers from behind started increasing,” said Thakkar. He added that this continued for almost 10 minutes and then people started screaming.”I saw some commuters faint. Even I was not able to breathe, but managed to reach the railing and got a chance to bend my head over the railing,” added Thakkar. He recounted that the little air he inhaled saved his life. Thakkar is currently at KEM Hospital and he is recuperating from his chest injuries.Naresh Kamble, 35-year-old who was a worker with a distributor was one of the many who recounted the horror tale. With a fracture in his left leg, even though he is moved out of the hospital, doctors told him he will take at least a month to recover.While Kadam’s was a case of fracture, in case of a number of others the problem appeared to be grave. “There is no movement in one of the legs. Earlier, they said that they will move him out after two days but since there is no sensation, he will have to stay here for a while. I have been told that some nerves were pressed badly,” said Suvarna Ahire, mother of 26-year-old Rupesh.After being buried under a number of people, Ritesh Rathod, too, had a similar fate. “He is in a lot of pain and is not able to sleep properly. Though there is no fracture, there is no motion in his legs,” said Virendra Malekar, a friend of Rathod.Jeetendra Patel, 25, was in a shock to even speak to people. A native of Pratapgarh, Uttar Pradesh, he had come to Mumbai about two months ago and had started working at a garment shop as a salesman. Patel received severe injuries in his lower part of his body and cannot walk.